In writing a narrative essay Essay

Include sensory and emotional details, so the reader will experience the story, not just read about it Have the story support the point you are making, and make reference to that point in the first sentence. Write in the first or third person Descriptive Descriptive essays have text which describes traits and characteristics of people, objects, events, feelings, etc in intricate detail. Whatever is being described will be thoroughly examined. For example, if you were describing roses, you would explain: Where they come from What they look like What colors they are How they grow and smell When you write a descriptive essay, you want to involve the reader’s senses and emotions. For example, you could say, â€Å"I got sleepy† or describe it like this, â€Å"As I was waiting for Santa, my eyelids began to get heavy, the lights on the tree began to blur with the green branches, and my head started to drop.† The second sentence gives vivid details to make the reader feel like he is there. Exposition See more: how to start a personal narrative essay examples Expository essays can compare, explore and discuss problems, or tell a story. An exposition essay gives information about various topics to the reader. It: Informs Describes Explains In writing an exposition, the text needs to: Be concise and easy to understand Give different views on a subject or report on a situation or event Explain something that may be difficult to understand as you write your essay. Remember that your purpose is to explain. Argumentative In an argumentative essay the writer is trying to convince the reader by demonstrating the truth or falsity of a topic. The writer’s position will be backed up with certain kinds of evidence, like statistics or opinions of experts. The writer is not just giving an opinion, but making an argument for or against something and supporting that argument with data. To know how to write an essay in an argumentative way, you have to research and backup what you say in the text. Learn by Example When learning how to write an essay, sometimes the best way to learn is to look and analyze essay examples. Following are excerpts from narrative essays: â€Å"Looking back on a childhood filled with events and memories, I find it rather difficult to pick on that leaves me with the fabled â€Å"warm and fuzzy feelings.† As the daughter of an Air Force Major, I had the pleasure of traveling across America in many moving trips. I have visited the monstrous trees of the Sequoia National Forest, stood on the edge of the Grande Canyon and have jumped on the beds at Caesar’s Palace in Lake Tahoe.† â€Å"The day I picked my dog up from the pound was one of the happiest days of both of our lives. I had gone to the pound just a week earlier with the idea that I would just â€Å"look† at a puppy. Of course, you can no more just look at those squiggling little faces so filled with hope and joy than you can stop the sun from setting in the morning. I knew within minutes of walking in the door that I would get a puppy†¦ but it wasn’t until I saw him that I knew I had found my puppy.† â€Å"Looking for houses was supposed to be a fun and exciting process. Unfortunately, none of the ones that we saw seemed to match the specifications that we had established. They were too small, too impersonal, too close to the neighbors. After days of finding nothing even close, we began to wonder: was there really a perfect house out there for us?† The following is an example of a famous narrative written by John Updike, â€Å"Hub Fans Bid Kid Adieu†: â€Å"The afternoon grew so glowering that in the sixth inning the arc lights were turned on–always a wan sight in the daytime, like the burning headlights of a funeral procession. Aided by the gloom, Fisher was slicing through the Sox rookies, and Williams did not come to bat in the seventh. He was second up in the eighth. This was almost certainly his last time to come to the plate in Fenway Park, and instead of merely cheering, as we had at his three previous appearances, we stood, all of us, and applauded.† Following are excerpts from descriptive essays: â€Å"Like his twisted feathers, his many scars, the reliable old owl chose the gnarled, weather-beaten, but solid branch often—it being a companion to the wise alone with the night and the last branch to creak in the heaviest wind. He often came to survey the fields and the clouds before his hunt, to listen to the steady sound of the stream passing through reeds under the bridge, while combing his feathers for the unwanteds—whatever they might be.† Here is a descriptive essay about a first visit to a favorite diner written by a student at Roane State Community College:†When entering the door at Lou’s, two things are immediately noticeable: the place is rarely empty and seems to consist of a maze of rooms. The first room, through the door, is the main part of the restaurant. There is another, rarely used, dining room off to the right. It was added during the oil well boom of the seventies. Through the main dining room is yet another room; it guards the door leading into the kitchen. This room contains the most coveted table in the place. The highest tribute Lou can bestow on anyone is to allow them access to seats at this table. This table is the family table; it is reserved for Lou’s, and her daughter Karen’s, immediate family and treasured friends.† Here is an example of a descriptive essay from St. Cloud State:†Billy Ray’s Pawn Shop and Lawn Mower Repair looked like a burial ground for country auction rejects. The blazing, red, diesel fuel tanks beamed in front of the station, looking like cheap lipstick against the pallid, wrinkled texture of the parking lot sand. The yard, not much larger than the end zone at General G. Patton High School on the north end of town, was framed with a rusted metallic hedge of lawn mowers, banana seat bicycles, and corroded oil drums. It wasn’t a calico frame of rusted parts, but rather an orchestra of unwanted machinery that Billy Ray had arranged into sections. The yellow-tanked mowers rested silently at the right of the diesel fuel. Once red, now faded orange, mowers stood at attention to the left. The oil barrels, jaded and pierced with holes, bellared like chimes when the wind was right. The bikes rested sporadically throughout the lot. In the middle of it all was the office, a faded, steel roof supported by cheap two-by-fours and zebra paneling. Billy Ray was at home, usually, five blocks east of town on Kennel Road.† Following are excerpts from exposition essays: â€Å"This family was a victim of a problem they could have avoided-a problem that, according to Florida park rangers, hundreds of visitors suffer each year.† Several times a month,† ranger Rod Torres of O’Leno State Park said, â€Å"people get scared and leave the park in the middle of the night.† Those people picked the wrong kind of park to visit. Not that there was anything wrong with the park: The hikers camped next to them loved the wild isolation of it. But it just wasn’t the kind of place the couple from New Jersey had in mind when they decided to camp out on this trip through Florida.† Here is an example of a student model answer of an Expository Essay from The Write Source:†Did you know that 7 out of 10 students have cheated at least once in the past year? Did you know that 50 percent of those students have cheated more than twice? These shocking statistics are from a survey of 9,000 U.S. high school students.Incredibly, teachers may even be encouraging their students to cheat! Last year at a school in Detroit, teachers allegedly provided their students with answers to statewide standard tests.†Here is an another example of an expository essay. This example comes from Essay Start:†Throughout history and through a cross-section of cultures, women have transformed their appearance to conform to a beauty ideal. Ancient Chinese aristocrats bound their feet as a show of femininity; American and European women in the 1800s cinched in their waists so tightly, some suffered internal damage; in some African cultures women continue to wear plates in their lower lips, continually stretching the skin to receive plates of larger size. The North American ideal of beauty has continually focussed on women’s bodies: the tiny waist of the Victorian period, the boyish figure in vogue during the flapper era, and the voluptuous curves that were the measure of beauty between the 1930s and 1950s. Current standards emphasize a toned, slender look, one that exudes fitness, youth, and health. According to psychologist Eva Szekely, â€Å"Having to be attractive at this time . . . means unequivocally having to be thin. In North America today, thinness is a precondition for being perceived by others and oneself as healthy† (19). However, this relentless pursuit of thinness is not just an example of women trying to look their best, it is also a struggle for control, acceptance and success.† Finally, here are excerpts from argumentative essays: â€Å"Gun control has been a controversial issue for years. A vast majority of citizens believe that if gun control is strictly enforced it would quickly reduce the threat of crime. Many innocent people feel they have the right to bear arms for protection, or even for the pleasure of hunting. These people are penalized for protecting their lives, or even for enjoying a common, innocent sport. To enforce gun control throughout the nation means violating a persons Constitutional rights. Although some people feel that the issue of gun control will limit crime, the issue should not exist due to the fact that guns are necessary for self defense against crime, and by enforcing gun control is violating a citizen’s second amendment right to bear arms.† Another examples of an argumentative essay comes from Bogazici University:†Throw out the bottles and boxes of drugs in your house. A new theory suggests that medicine could be bad for your health, which should at leastcome as good news to people who cannot afford to buy expensive medicine. However, it is a blow to the medicine industry, and an evenbigger blow to our confidence in the progress of science. This new theory argues that healing is at our fingertips: we can be healthy by doing Reikion on a regular basis.† On Essay By Example, on the other hand, the sample argumentative essay addresses online games and socialization:

Hemingway’s Descriptive technique

The First World War wreaked more havoc and destruction than the world had ever seen before. All around them, people could only see death and devastation. The existing moral structure and value systems were coming crumbling down as men killed fellow men without so much as a second thought. This led to people questioning faith, religion, and the existence of God. They began to feel that if there really was a God, then surely he would stop the pain and suffering that man was facing at that time? A movement slowly began to sweep over Europe, where people began to re-think and question the very meaning of life. This school of thought came to be known as Existentialism. Very similar to Existentialism, was Modernism. The Modernists were people who revolted against the music, art and architecture of the times, and targeted mainly the classical and romantic strains of literature. They were people who were depressed and disillusioned by the militarism of the times, and challenged fundamental values such as progress and enlightenment. Like the Existentialists, they too did not believe in the existing set of rules and morals that governed society, and believed it was time for a change. Both of these concepts influenced Hemingway greatly, and we can see the effect of this influence clearly in his writing. The novel. â€Å"A Farewell to Arms† is narrated entirely from Frederick Henry's point of view. He has a very distinct way of describing things-short and crisp. Throughout the novel, though Henry is surrounded on all sides by death, destruction and the wreckage of war, never once do we see him dramatizing or romanticizing it. He has what one might call a â€Å"reporter's eye†-everything is portrayed as if being reported by a journalist, concentrating only on the concrete facts and nothing else. Hemingway does not give the reader the opportunity to pass moral judgement on any of the characters or situations, infact, Henry gives us a perfect 360 degree view of things, and the way in which he speaks of death and casualties with such practiced normalcy almost unsettles the reader. In this part of the novel, Hemingway also stresses on the differences that have grown between Rinaldi and Henry. Henry was injured and had to leave the front, which subsequently led to him spending time and falling deeply in love with Catherine. This episode in his life gave him the chance to change and grow as a person, he becomes more mature and very different from the Henry that we came to know at the beginning of the book. Rinaldi, on the other hand, remains the way he has always been, and seems to have grown embittered and hostile towards the war. â€Å"It is killing me,† he says. Of Henry he says, â€Å"you act like a married man,† almost accusing him of having changed. In this manner, Hemingway uses Rinaldi as a foil to bring out and emphasize the change and growth that has taken place in Henry. In Book Three of the novel, Henry and Catherine's romantic interlude has ended, and the focus shifts once more from love to war. It is once again Autumn, and â€Å"the trees were all bare and the roads were muddy;† Hemingway continues with his use of rain and water as a bad omen. Mud here also represents the unclarity and uncertainty of the times. Later, in chapter 28, mud acts as an antagonist of sorts, when the ambulances get stuck in it, and this leads to Henry shooting a fellow Italian officer. The contrast between the plains and the mountains, which Hemingway had established in earlier chapters, is laid out more explicitly here when Henry, while speaking to a driver named Gino, tells him that he does not believe that a war can be fought and won in the mountains. This establishes the mountains not only as a place of peace and tranquility, but also of refuge. Rain also seems to be ever-present during Book Three. In Chapter 27, it begins to pour, and this marks the beginning of the Italian retreat. By the evening, the rain turns to snow for a while, giving the men a glimmer of hope, only to start raining again. The reader is so tuned into the rain- death symbolism by now that when, over dinner, a driver known as Amyno says, â€Å"To-morrow maybe we drink rainwater,† we are left with a deep sense of foreboding and doom. Perhaps the most important bit of symbolism in the whole novel comes in Chapter 28 of Book Three. It is the climax of the novel, and the action is all downhill from then onwards. Here, Henry deserts the war at long last, it is something that has been in the pipeline for many a chapter. Chaos seems to be at large, as Henry witnesses Amyno being shot by a fellow Italian. As he says, â€Å"We are in more danger from Italians than from Germans.† Henry had never felt any duty or obligation to the Italian army, he always seemed to be isolated from the war, and so it seems as if all this time Hemingway was preparing us for this very moment. When Henry plunges headlong into the river, effectively abandoning the war, the reader is not shocked, and does not feel the urge to pass judgement of any sort, because he understands Henry's motives for desertion. His dive into the river is Hemingway's way of signaling a Re-Birth or Baptism of sorts, as when Henry comes out of the water, he is a changed man, who has made his own peace with the war. This is further exemplified when Henry says, â€Å"Anger was washed away in the river along with any obligation,† Also, while Henry is clutching on to the piece of timber and floating down the river, we notice that though the entire novel up until that point has been entirely in the first person (â€Å"I†), the narration now shifts for a brief moment, and Henry begins to use the words â€Å"you† and â€Å"we†. The result of this is that the reader feels much closer to Henry, and gets a chance to put himself in Henry's shoes. Its as if Hemingway wants us all to be Fredrick Henry, if only for a moment. At the end of Book Three, we see Henry traveling in a train car used to transport guns, and thinking quietly about what he has just done, and about his love for Catherine. Again, Hemingway uses the second-person narrative, as Henry justifies his desertion to himself by thinking, â€Å"You were out of it now, you had no more obligation.† Thus, Hemingway effectively utilizes these various descriptive techniques and employs them to peel away the layers of glory and honour that surround the war, instead showing us the honest, brutal face of war. The novel reaches its climax in Book Three, and we see descending action from here onwards.

Feminism in Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice Essay

A feminist perspective began to exist during the time when women were not given much right to be heard. With the determination to fight for their right to be heard, women used literature as their means of exposing their true feelings and desire to be equal among men (â€Å"Feminist Perspective on Eighteenth Century Literature†, n. d. ). Jane Austen is one of the many female authors during their time that showed her feministic point of view especially in her work Pride and Prejudice. Feminism in Austen’s Pride and Prejudice showed how women at early times were repressed by the expectation of society and how women fought for their right to be respected and treated the same as their male counterparts. Austen’s feminism influence was shown in her work Pride and Prejudice by making the characters themselves stand up for women (â€Å"Pride and Prejudice — notes on education, marriage, status of women, etc. †, n. d. ). In the movie version of the novel, the dialogue between Lady Catherine and Elizabeth revealed how Elizabeth stood up for herself and her right to be respected. This is shown in Elizabeth’s line: â€Å"I will not and I certainly never shall. You have insulted me in every possible way, and can now have nothing further to say† (â€Å"Memorable Quotes from Pride and Prejudice†, 2005). Here, Austen made Elizabeth’s character stand up for her right to be respected as a person. This is what most feminists discuss, i. e. , the right of women to fight and demand respect from other people, and Austen showed that in Elizabeth’s character. Austen also revealed a sense of feministic view in her work by showing how limited options are for women (â€Å"Pride and Prejudice — notes on education, marriage, status of women, etc. â€Å", n. d. ). Austen did not only reveal this issue by using other female characters in the story. In the movie version of the novel, this issue could be clearly seen through the character of Charlotte Lucas, Elizabeth’s best friend as revealed in one of her lines: â€Å"Oh hush! Not all of us can afford to be romantic. I’ve been offered a comfortable home and protection. There’s a lot to be thankful for† (â€Å"Memorable Quotes from Pride and Prejudice†, 2005). In this line, Charlotte clearly suggests that not all women can afford to follow what their heart truly desires, meaning women at that time could not afford to choose because of what society expects from them. This could also be seen in Charlotte’s line: â€Å"I’m twenty – seven years old, I’ve no money and no prospects. I’m already a burden to my parents and I’m frightened. So don’t you dare judge me Lizzie. Don’t you dare! † (â€Å"Memorable Quotes from Pride and Prejudice†, 2005). This line clearly states how Austen made Charlotte’s character show how hard it is for women having limited options. Austen showed through Charlotte’s character how women at that time were repressed because of how society’s expectation amongst women affected them. Aside from exposing the issue about women’s rights to be equal among men, Austen also revealed in her work how women are independent individuals that can make their own decisions. In the movie adaptation of the novel, Austen made use of the character of Elizabeth to show how a woman could go against the norms on decision making. This is revealed in her lines: â€Å"Mr. Collins, I cannot accept you. Only the deepest love will persuade me into matrimony. † This line from the movie adaptation reveals how Elizabeth rejects the marriage proposal of Mr. Collins, a clergy man newly ordained by Lady Catherine. Austen revealed in the character of Elizabeth how she believes that women should be able to make decisions on their own. Feminists not only discuss issues about how women are viewed during the previous times but also how women fought to be treated equal and to have the same opportunities as the men in society. Discussing the different issues and rights of women to be heard in a society dominated by male shows the influence of feminism in Jane Austen’s work Pride and Prejudice. References Feminist Perspective on Eighteenth Century Literature (n. d. ) 123helpme. Retrieved from http://www. 123helpme. com/preview. asp? id=34762 Memorable Quotes from Pride and Prejudice (2005). Retrieved from http://www. imdb. com/title/tt0414387/quotes Pride and Prejudice — notes on education, marriage, status of women, etc. (n. d. ) The Republic of Pemberly. Retrieved from http://www. pemberley. com/janeinfo/pptopic2. html

The advantages and disadvantages of robots Essay - 1

The advantages and disadvantages of robots - Essay Example In simple terms robots can be defined as a mechanical device that may resemble sometimes a human and is capable of performing several tasks or often complex human tasks which may be programmed in advance or perform on command. The following report includes the discussion about the advantages of robots in this innovative and technological world. The report also includes the description of the disadvantages of robots. Finally a conclusion has been drawn in the report related to the research done. There are several advantages of robots, as they are machines which can perform several tasks and actions which humans cannot do. Robots can work 24/7 without any need of salary and food, and they can also perform tasks with accuracy and consistency. Robots are advantageous because they can perform tasks faster than humans along with more accuracy and consistency. Robots can be used in doing several tasks like in production, household etc. using robots in the industrial sector have several advantages as they can help in improving the quality of products and also will reduce the wastage or breakages. Robots can be very advantages in business terms as they can increase the level of production and can also decrease the cost per unit of production as compared to human labour (Gray, 88). This is because they have the ability to work constantly without any breaks, vacation, and sleep and also has a potential to be more productive than any human worker. Robots also has the advantages of work place safety, as the workers are moved to the supervisory role and the humans don’t have to perform dangerous actions in several hazardous settings. Robots may also lead to savings as higher workers safety also leads to savings. This also leads to lower level of concerns for the workers insurances by employers. Robots also perform each and every task faster than any human which helps in saving of time. Robots measurements and actions are more

Childrens Literature Interview Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Childrens Literature Interview - Essay Example I've never a full count of them, but my estimate would be that I personally own at least 150 different children's books. That includes picture books as well as reading books. Most of them are display in various locations around my classroom simply because I think it does children so much value just to actually see books because they may not have any at home. Especially the kids who come to my school because we live in a low-income area where 95% the students throughout the school qualify for free lunch. Since they are kindergarteners, most of the books they actually pick up are picture books or have limited vocabulary. A: Well, our school instituted a mandatory two hour reading block for all grades. Obviously, the way this is conducted in kindergarten is different from the higher grades. Much of our reading time is spent in reading groups, actually. We have some computer programs and we have worksheets, but I always try to spend at least half the time with actual books in their hands. The terrific thing about the level of children's books I use in kindergarten is that after seven years I have memorized quite a bit of them. Verse books especially. This allows me to actually watch them as they get stuck on a word while I am following along in my head. Q: If you've memorized some of the books and you have over one-hundred of them, I would imagine that would mean there are some favorites that get read every single year What kind of books are favored among kindergarteners in the 21st century A: The doctor never fails. Dr. Seuss is just as popular now as ever. It might be the verbal play and silly words, but at the same time they enjoy books about Charlie Brown and the "If you give a" series. Of course, when it comes to having kids actually looking through a book on their desk, you can't beat Eric Carle. Q: As an educator, why do you think Dr. Seuss is as popular in 2008 as he was in 1968 A: I may be the wrong person to ask. Quite evidently, the rhymes and the made-up words appeal to kids. Dr. Seuss is fun to listen to and the illustrations obviously have great appeal. Any book with humorous drawings is a guaranteed hit among kindergarteners. But I think my particular experiences with Dr. Seuss may differ from others. Q: Could others learn from your experience Do you think this experience with Dr. Seuss is something that could be translated into a standard lesson plan or curricula A: The way I deal with rhyming books and Seuss in general is not something that I would consider standardizing. You have to have a flair for the dramatic and even a certain willingness to kind of make a fool of yourself, I guess. The language and fun and humor of Seuss in particular, but most kindergarten-level rhyming book in general, may appeal to contemporary students even more than students in 1968 or 1988. The rhythm of these books is instantly recognizable to most of my students, and probably every American student, as a form of rap. So, even though I'm not a fan of rap music or consider myself a great rapper, I know I can reach these students by turning Dr. Seuss into a rap song. Any

Thomas Jefferson Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Thomas Jefferson - Essay Example In 1698, much before the birth of Jefferson, Locke wrote in the second chapter of his famous Second Treatise on Government: â€Å"All men by nature are equal†¦in that equal right that every man hath to his natural freedom, without being subjected to the will or authority of any other man; †¦ being all equal and independent, no one ought to harm another in his life, health, liberty or possessions†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Jefferson understood these natural rights to be the most significant for the preservation of human dignity and happiness. He said: â€Å"Perhaps it will be found that to obtain a just republic (and it is to secure our just rights that we resort to government at all) it must be so extensive as that local egoisms may never reach its greater part; that on every particular question, a majority may be found in its councils free from particular interests, and giving, therefore, an uniform prevalence to the principles of justice†. For him the ideal political system for America was one which respected and upheld these rights, the rights which were a man’s by birth, which could not be created by a government but could of course be violated by it. To this end, Jefferson’s contribution to the constitution were the first ten amendments which together constitute the â€Å"The Bill of Rights†. These were put in place to ensure that the American government could never supersede the natural, God-given rights of the American citizen. Jefferson’s vision for America saw a nation where the people were the first priority, not the institutions and organizations. He never wanted institutions to have the power to manipulate people, and saw governments, organized religions and commercial monopolies as threats to the people. He opposed the formation of banks, commercial monopolies and a standing military. To Jefferson, the agrestic ideal of a farming community seemed ideal, where the the people were not dependent on

One Day Training Programme for Big Idea Limited Assignment

One Day Training Programme for Big Idea Limited - Assignment Example Since the company lacks experience in managing such events so it has approached our consultancy firm to design the way in which such a training programme can be managed. Concept of Project Management (PM) and its strategy All over the world, most of PM practitioners prefer to use Project Management Board of Knowledge (PMBoK) and Projects In Controlled Environments (PRINCE2) methodologies as they are the standardized ones. According to PMI (2008), both methodologies suggest that the projects should get started with a Project Initiation phase that helps in identifying the main requirements of the owners. However, in case of Big Idea Ltd., preparing a Feasibility study or Business case is most appropriate which is the latest tool used by PM practitioners (Field & Keller, 2007). Business case is described by Gardiner (2005) as a tool that is standard in Project Management with the aim of providing analysis of three crucial features of projects i.e. managerial, technical and financial so that a solution can be derived in accordance with the customer’s set of requirements. Business case has been used by Project Management practitioners as it eases the management team in making sound decision in future about project related to its objectives and scope (Ali, Anbari, & Money, 2008). Since Project Initiation Phase is of utmost importance in every project, it is vital for the PM practitioner to ensure that this phase is properly worked out. According to Kerzner (2009) and Turner (2009), Project Initiation phase must have to two outputs; one is there should be an appointed Project Manager and second output is Project Initiation Document known as PID. While the process of initial project development is progressing and project objectives are being defined, PM practitioners identify two sets of factors that will be used for measurement of project’s success (Haas, 2006). According to PMI (2008), the first set of factors is made from the success criteria which com prise of dependents variable that will assess the successful project’s outcome i.e. time, quality and cost. While, second set of factors set comprise of success factors that consist of independent variables that have influence on success criteria’s successful achievement i.e. project assumptions and constraints. Figure 1: Project Life Cycle Source: Lock (2003) The project objective for Big Idea Ltd can be defined as: To design and prepare a one day UG Project Management Training Programme for Level 3 Undergraduate students to make them understand the application of Microsoft Project and Critical Path Analysis for delivery on 1st September 2012 with a maximum budget of ?40,000. When the project initiation phase ends and project is approved by the concerned authorities, the next phase of the project life is project development phase. Olsson and Magnussen (2007) and Shenhar (2008), the second phase of Project Life Cycle is the most crucial one as at this stage the project is either made or broken. At this stage, the project is refined as formation of project team takes place along with setting of various plans and activities for implementation, monitoring and control are completed. Project Development phase helps in setting the project boundaries and identification of details and requirements of the projects (Kwak, Anbari, 2008). Turner (2009) defined the second phase as the identification of activities that will allow operations

Affirmative Action Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Affirmative Action - Term Paper Example The following will explore job discrimination with an eye to how this form of discrimination affects certain groups of people in the labor market and how society has attempted to protect these people from discrimination. Taking a controversial approach to minority set aside programs, this essay will then persuasively argue that since these programs promote discrimination themselves, they are inherently defeatist and promote the same type of behavior that they try to eradicate. We now begin with an overview of the reasons for minority set aside programs – also called affirmative action – and this will follow with a concise rebuttal of the needs for such programs. We will explore the unintended consequences of affirmative action and begin with a concise exploration of the issue of discrimination in the work place. Discrimination in the workforce affects people from all walks of life. Accordingly, the employment opportunities of half of our population are hindered by latent and overt sexism in the offices of America. Affirmative action seeks to resolve issues of inequality and discrimination faced by select groups. The Civil Rights Act states emphatically that discrimination based on sex, race or religion is prohibited and the EEOC guidelines for affirmative action ensures that key groups are given specific advantages due to the challenges they will face in society. For example, it is well known that women in America earn substantially less than their male counterparts. The Equal Pay Act (EPA) of 1963 was established more than four decades ago to protect men and women who perform the same tasks from wage-based discrimination. Sexism is an unfortunate aspect of our modern society but the EPA seeks to combat it through positive legislation aimed at correcting the pay discrepancy between men and women in the labor force. Older workers also face a variety of impediments to their active inclusion in the labor force and the Age Discrimination in

The Golden Mean Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The Golden Mean - Essay Example May sound surprising, yet it is true that the Golden Mean have always been an essential element of the natural world (Lamb 2011). The appearance of Fibonacci numbers on which the concept of Golden Mean is based, on a regular basis in the works of nature do corroborates the ancient conclusion and belief that nature is based on some predetermined and reoccurring patterns (Lamb 2011). Many ancient monuments like the Pyramids of Giza, the Greek temple in the Acropolis in Athens and many medieval churches had been designed in conformation with the Golden Mean (Knott 2010). In a contemporary context, the United Nations Headquarters building located at New York had been designed in consonance with the concept of Golden Mean (Knott 2010). It was an international committee of architects comprising of influential and renowned architects like Wallace K Harrison, Oscar Niemeyer and Le Corbusier that finalized the design of the United Nations Headquarters building at New York (A View on Cities 20 11). Eventually it was a plan laid out by Le Corbusier, called 23A that was chosen to be the basis for the new building (A View on Cities 2011). In 1950, Le Corbussier published a book named Le modulator, in which he recognized the relevance of the Golden Mean in the contemporary architecture (Knott 2010).

The Good Earth Essay Essay Example for Free

The Good Earth Essay Essay Wang Lung allows himself to become corrupted by the views of society of the rich, and he begins to treat O-lan more like a slave rather than his wife. Wang Lung has several good harvests and saves enough food and money to overcome the hard times and get his family through the years to come. One day, Wang Lung decides that O-lan is not suitable to be the wife of an opulent land owner such as himself. He comments on how ugly her unbound feet are, and O-lan was extremely hurt by that. †¦and he saw for the first time that she was a woman whom no man could call other than she was, a dull and common creature†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Buck 179). Later on, he does regret saying what he said to her because he feels guilty, but Chinese men do not show their emotions. It would have been unlike a traditional Chinese man to feel any sort of repentance towards his wife after insulting her. Not only does Wang Lung belittle O-lan, but he also ends up having a mistress. He starts attending the ostentatious tea house because he felt as if he were too good to go to the old tea house. At the new tea house, he got to choose one of the beautiful and alluring women on the paintings that were hanging on the walls. He picks out a woman named Lotus. As Cuckoo took Wang Lung upstairs, she said, â€Å"And Lotus may have this fellow – he smells of the fields and garlic! † (192). Wang Lung was highly embarrassed because he cares too much of what society thinks. â€Å"This Wang Lung heard, although he disdained to answer, although her words smote him like a dagger thrust because he feared that he looked indeed what he was, a farmer† (192). Although he was chagrin about the situation, it does not stop him from changing completely. Wang Lung wore a ponytail, but since Lotus thought it was old fashioned, he cut it for her. He also starts spending money abundantly, loses his enthusiasm for farming, purchases many new clothes, and cares heavily about his appearance. Wang Lung wanted to purchase Lotus, but in the meantime, he was distressed and worried. He screams at O-lan for not brushing her hair during this time. She cried, but it caught Wang Lung by surprise because he is not used to ever seeing her cry. Even during the hardest times of their life together, she did not weep. Not only did Wang Lung purchases Lotus, but he built her her very own house and pond. He also hires Cuckoo as her servant because she servant because Lotus’ feet are bound so she cannot walk a long distance, and later he builds Lotus and Cuckoo their own kitchen. Later in the novel, it is apparent that Wang Lung does not want his son to marry a village woman. â€Å"I am not willing that he marry any of the daughters of the village farmers, nor is it meet, seeing that we bear the common name of Wang† (237). If he was still poor, he most likely would not have cared if his son was married to a village woman. Wang Lung cares too much of what society thinks about him when he becomes rich. Wang Lung was once just a poor farmer in China, until he came into some money. He believed he was better than others, and he displayed that by the way he acted towards certain people, including his wife. Wang Lung treated his wife poorly once he met Lotus. He completely changed. Wang Lung let money and society’s view of the rich corrupt how he once used to be.

HRM Information Systems

HRM Information Systems ABSTRACT Information technology is expected to drive Human Resource (HR)s transition from a focus on Human Resource Management (HRM) to Strategic Human Resource Management (SHRM). This strategic role not only adds a valuable dimension to the HR function, but also changes the competencies that define HR professional and practitioner success. The study aims at investigating what role if any do Human Resource Information Systems (HRIS) play in SHRM. It attempts to examine how HR professionals and managers in different organizations see the effects of HRIS on strategic HR tasks and job roles. It also tries to find out if there is any significant difference in the usage of HRIS between Small/Medium (SME) size and large size companies. A survey questionnaire was sent to different companies. The target group of the questionnaire was HR managers, HR directors, and HR professionals in companies based in England. The scope was widened to include both large and small/medium sized organizations across all the business sectors. The results of the survey reveal that HR professionals not only consider HRIS usage as a support for strategic HR tasks but also perceive it as an enabling technology. The study also indicates that large sized firms are most likely to experience considerable HRIS usage in support of strategic HR tasks. Moreover, there was no significant difference in proportion to the size of a company regarding HRIS usage in support of commitment management and managing trade union relations with organizations. Low response rate of this study makes generalization rather difficult however, future research would benefit from higher response rates for more generalized results OVERVIEW The relationship between the HR strategies and the firms performance is an issue that has caused significant differentiations in the literature mostly because of the existence of many parameters that can influence the results produced through the examination of this problem in practice. Moreover, because within a firm, the participants and the interests are many it is difficult to identify the role and the significance of each particular organizational element particularly when there is no specific corporate plan for such an investigation. RESEARCH PROBLEM The human resources strategies followed by modern organizations present significant differentiations in accordance with the firms position in the market, its performance and its financial strength in general. In the long term, the application of specific human resources strategies has been found to be related with the performance of the organization. Moreover, where appropriate HR plans have been applied, the organizational performance has been found to be increased. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES OF THE RESEARCH Current research as already mentioned above will focus on the examination of the relationship between HR strategies applied within a particular organization and its performance. In order for the above task to lead to valid results, a series of other issues are going to be examined at a secondary level. These issues are indicatively: a) Which is the significance of the HR for the organizational operation, b) How the HR strategies can be more effective? c) Is there any chance for innovation in firms with specific HR plan or any relevant initiative has to be adapted to the existed framework? d) Which are the main aspects of organizational growth and e) Are there any other factors that can influence the firms performance and which would be their interaction with the HR strategies already implemented in the particular firm? LIMITATIONS OF THE RESEARCH Current research is limited by the fact that it is rather unlikely for companies to provide data related with their employees problems related with the workplace. On the other hand, any programs or support tools existed are very likely to be provided by all firms that would be engaged in the research of current project. For this reason, although the job satisfaction and the personal development of employees would be rather easily monitored, the existence of problems in the workplace would be difficult to be proved. For this reason current research as already described above focuses on the examination of the human resources strategies followed by organizations in general as these practices can be observed in most firms of modern commercial market. The existence of specific differentiations in accordance with the specific issue will have to be proved either by statistics released in general or by cases examined particularly in the legal area. INTRODUCTION According to Likert, Every aspect of firms activities is determined by the competence, motivation and general effectiveness of its human organization. Of all the tasks of management, managing the human component is the central and most important task because all depends how well it is done. This quotation sums up the importance of human components in an organisation and the need for managing it effectively. Human resource management is concerned with all aspects of managing the human resources of an organisation. More specifically, human resource management involves determining the organisations heed of human resource, recruiting and selecting the best available employees, developing, counselling and rewarding employees, acting as a liaison with union and government organisation and handling other matters regarding to the well being of employees. Each of these functions is necessary to some degree irrespective of nature and size of the organisation. That is why in most of the organis ation a separate department know as Personnel/Human resource Department is created for the effective performance of these functions. The relationship between the HR strategies and the firms performance is an issue that has caused significant differentiations in the literature mostly because of the existence of many parameters that can influence the results produced through the examination of this problem in practice. Moreover, because within a firm, the participants and the interests are many it is difficult to identify the role and the significance of each particular organizational element particularly when there is no specific corporate plan for such an investigation. Organization must have a set of unique resources for gaining competitive advantage moreover proper utilization of those resources matters a lot. Today organization employee acts as a main resource and knowledge, skills and abilities have to be deployed and used to the maximum effect if the organization is to create value. LITERATURE REVIEW Human resources should be considered as a significant organizational asset. In this context, the application of the appropriate strategies for its development, can lead to the improvement of the corporate performance both in the short and the long term. However, there are also companies where human resources are not considered as having particular importance for the firms growth. In this context, Haines (1997, 95) supported that there are firms that view their human resources as an expense rather than an asset an element that is expendable and perhaps discarded when the skills possessed becomes obsolete; however when human resources are viewed as an asset, companies enhance individual value through training and human development and ensure continued contribution to the organization. The importance of human resources for the corporate performance has in any case proved both in the literature and the empirical research conducted in all industrial sectors. In accordance with the above, in order for a firm to achieve a stable and continuous growth, it is necessary that its employees are satisfied as this term has been explained in the literature. More specifically, in accordance with Kim (2005, 669) job satisfaction is an affective or emotional response toward various facets of ones job. Job satisfaction has been a topic of great interest for researchers and practitioners in a wide range of fields, including organizational psychology, public administration, and management. On the other hand, the existence of job satisfaction has been extensively related with the level of payment of employees in the particular sectors of a specific organization. Indeed, the study of Rudman (2003) showed that paying for performance is a big issue in contemporary human resources management; organisations have long believed that production and productivity improve when pay is linked to performance, and have developed payment-by-results (PBR) systems and incentive schemes to support th is belief. In the same context, it is noticed by Blinder (1990, 117) that employees usually feel that profit sharing and gain sharing are good for personal effort, company growth and productivity, and workplace atmosphere. However, in order for the firms to achieve the maximum level of growth, it is necessary to design and apply the appropriate HR policies as indicated by each particular firms needs. The use of fit as a criterion of evaluation of the appropriate corporate strategy has been extensively used in practice. Towards this direction Wright (1998, 56) mentioned that the basic theory behind fit is that the effectiveness of any HR practice or set of practices for impacting firm performance depends upon the firms strategy (or conversely, the effectiveness of any strategy depends upon having the right HR practices). In other words, the issues that need to be considered by a firm before applying any relevant HR strategy are many. Indicatively, Katzell (1975, 5, 11-12) tried to identify the relationship between the employee satisfaction (as a result of a specific HR strategy) and the corporate performance and found that policy-makers must face up to a serious dilemma and find some way to resolve it; the dilemma is this: policy-makers would like to achieve two objectives for work organizations, on the one hand to enhance productivity and performance, and on the other to improve the quality of working life and job satisfaction for employers because under certain conditions, improving productivity will enhance worker satisfaction and improvements in job satisfaction will contribute to productivity; what it does mean is that there is no automatic and invariant relationship between the two. Under these terms, corporate performance has been found to be related with the employees performance within a particular organization. From a different point of view, Lawler et al. (2003, 15) supported that HRs greatest opportunity to add value may well be to play a role in the development and implementation of corporate strategy; HR can make a logical case for being an important part of strategy development, because of the importance of human capital in the ability of the firm to carry out its strategy. In other words, HR strategy can influence the firms growth in accordance with the measures provided for the personal and professional development of the firms employees even in the long term. The implementation of appropriate diversity strategy has to be considered in this case as absolutely necessary because in case of inequality in the workplace, no cooperation would be regarded as existed even if such cooperation exists, it will be problematic. In this context, Mathews (1998, 175 ) noticed that before diversity strategies are implemented, the organizations cultural environment, management and evaluation systems should be examined to ascertain if existing personnel/human resources processes will support or hinder diversity in the organization; then, appropriate strategies can be designed to develop and manage diversity based on these findings. From the same point of view, Ramlall (2003, 60) supported that given that several large-scale studies have proven that HRM is a critical driver in an organizations financial performance, it is imperative for HR and other leaders to understand the critical nature and utmost importance of understanding the effectiveness of all HR activities in creating value for the organization. To a more thorough examination of the problem, Christensen managed to identify the five elements that are considered as most crucial in the improvement of the employees productivity (as this improvement is expected to lead to the increase of the corporate growth). More specifically, Christensen supported that there are five elements which are extremely important for the effectiveness of employees within a particular organizational environment. These are (1958, 34): a) The technical organization of the group; b) The social structure of the group; c) The individual task motivation, i.e., the willingness to work hard that each member brings to and maintains toward his job; d) The rewards he receives from doing the job, and e) The satisfactions he obtains from being an accepted member of the group. The above elements can exist in any organization and can influence the productivity of its employees either in the short or in the long term. HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT (HRM) During and after 1970s, several changes took place in many countries which led to the term Human resource Management in place of the traditional term Personnel Management. These changes, declining importance of trade unionism, shift from industrial employment to service sector employment, growing competition, deregulation of economies, etc. As a result, three important roles of human resources have emerged as stated below. Human resource policies can be integrated with strategic business planning and used to reinforce appropriate culture. Human resources are valuable and a source of competitive advantage. Human resources can be tapped mostly effectively by mutually consistent policies which promote commitment and Foster a willingness in employees to act flexible in the interests of the adaptive organisations pursuit of excellence. The term Human resource management has been the subject of considerable debate, and its underlying philosophy and character are highly controversial. Much of this controversy stems from the absence of a precise formulation of and agreement on its significance and definition (Storey, 1989; and 1995a), as cited by Bratton and Gold (2003: 7). Obviously, definition of the subject matter is needed for analysis and understanding of HRM theory and practice. HRM DEFINITION HRM has a variety of definitions but there is general agreement that it has a closer fit with business strategy than previous models, specifically personnel management. In all the debates about the meaning, significance and practice of HRM, nothing seems more certain than the link between HRM and performance (HRM Guide October 2006). Below are some of the definitions of HRM, although it can be argued that these will only be ones of several possible definitions. De Cenzo and Robbins (1996: 8) defined HRM as the part of the organization that is concerned with the people dimension, and it is normally a staff or support function in the organization. HRM role is the provision of assistance in HRM issues to line employees, or those directly involved in producing the organizations goods and services. Acquiring peoples services, developing their skills, motivating them to high levels of performance, and ensuring their continuing maintenance and commitment to the organization are essential to achieving organizational goals. This is much the case regardless of the type of organization, government, business, education, health, recreation, or social action. The authors proposed an HRM specific approach as consisting of four functions- staffing, training and development, motivation, and maintenance. In addition, Bratton and Gold (2003: 7) define HRM as the strategic approach to managing employment relations which emphasizes that leveraging peoples capabilities is critical to achieving sustainable competitive advantage. This is achieved through a distinctive set of integrated employment policies, programs and practices. The authors presented HRM functions as planning, recruitment and selection, appraisal and performance management, reward management, development, employee relations, health and safety, and union-management relations. Moreover, to Alan Price (2004: 32) HRM aims at recruiting capable, flexible and committed people, managing and rewarding their performance and d eveloping key competencies. Contributing to the working definition of HRM is Abecker et al., (2004). They see HRM as a strategic and target oriented composition, regulation and development of all areas that affect human resources in a company. Efficient and effective management of these resources to a large extend, affects human resource behaviour, and consequently the performance of the organization as a whole. Moreover, the authors identified HRM with the field it covers. These include planning aspects- personnel requirements analysis and personnel asset analysis, and change aspects- recruitment, personnel development and labour displacement (Ibid). Next, is the diagrammatic representation of the said field. Human Resource Management Change Aspects Planning Aspects Personnel Requirement Analysis Labour Displacement Personnel Development Recruitment Personnel Asset Analysis Figure1: Fields of HRM (Source: Abecker et al., 2004) It is however, somehow strange, that, an important aspect of HRM, payroll or compensation/payment is missing from the field in figure 1 above propounded by the authors. Abecker et al., (2004) like the previous other authors, did not present a conclusive and detailed definition of HRM including the other concepts (HR processes). Lastly considered are the opinions of various management scholars who have taken a more in-depth look at the whole concept of HRM. These opinions should be given the greatest weight, since they reflect more in-depth research on the subject than is done by most textbook authors. Few such authors are Dessler et al., (1999), and Torrington et al.,(2005). According to Torrington et al., (2005: 5) HRM is fundamental to all management activity and has evolved from a number of different strands of thought. It is best described as a loose philosophy of people management rather than a focused methodology. Thus, distinction has been made between HRM as body of management activities on one hand (generically described as personnel management) and then on the other as a particular approach to execute those activities (carrying out people-oriented organizational activities than traditional personnel management). An organization gains competitive advantage by using its employees effectively, drawing on their expertise and ingenuity to meet clearly defined objectives. Torrington et al.,(2005: 5) identified the role of the human resource functions with the key objectives. These four objectives are the corner stone of all HR activities. These include Staffing, Performance, Change-management and Administration. Staffing objective focuses on finding the appropriate pool of human resources needed to ensure full and timely supply of work force (Ibid). It therefore involves designing organizational structures, identifying working conditions for different groups of employees followed by recruiting, selecting and developing the personnel required to fill the roles. Performance objective aims at ensuring workforce motivation and commitment for effective performance. Consequently, employees training and development remain important. Moreover, managing change effectively and efficiently remains one of the core objectives in almost every business. Key issues here include recruiting and/or developing people with the required leadership skills to drive the change process. Change agents are employed to encourage acceptance of change by coming out with reward systems associated with the change process. Employees involvement is also paramount here and is encouraged. The aim is to avoid resistance to change, more especially where it involves cultural changes (attitude, philosophy or long-present organizational norms). Administration objective aims at facilitating the smooth running of the organization. Hence, there is the need for accurate and comprehensive data on individual employees, records of achievement in terms of performance, attendance, training records, terms and condition of employment and personal details are (Ibid). However, for the purpose of this study, literature on the HRM concept will be based on the opinions of Dessler et al., (1999). The authors defined HRM as the management of people in organizations. It consists of the activities, policies, and practices involved in obtaining, developing, utilizing, evaluating, maintaining, and retaining the appropriate number and skill mix of employees to accomplish the organizations objectives. The goal of HRM is to maximize employees contributions in order to achieve optimal productivity and effectiveness, while simultaneously attaining individual objectives and societal objectives Dessler et al., (1999: 2). To the authors, the function of HRM include assisting the organization in attracting the quality and quantity of candidates required with respect to the organizations strategy and operational goals, staffing needs, and desired culture. Helping to maintain performance standards and increase productivity through orientation, training, development, job design, effective communication, and performance appraisal. Helping to create a climate in which employees are encouraged to develop and utilize their skills to the fullest. Helping to establish and maintain cordial working relationship with employees. Helping to create and maintain safe and healthy work environment. Development of programs to meet economic, psychological, and social needs of the employees. Helping the organization to retain productive employees and ensuring that the organization complies with provincial/territorial and federal laws affecting the work place such as human rights, employment equity, occupational health and safety (Ibid). HRM PROCESSES This sub section illustrates the processes involved in executing the HRM functions. Each of the functions: planning, recruitment, selection, orientation and training, performance appraisal etc. goes through a process. Unless otherwise stated, the rest of this section will be drawn from (Dessler et al., 1999)s literature based on pages 165 to 533. PLANNING PROCESS Human Resource Planning (HRP) process reviews human resources requirements to ensure that the organization has the required number of employees, with the necessary skills, to meet its goals, also known as employment planning. HRP is a proactive process, which both anticipates and influences an organizations future by systematically forecasting the demand for and supply of employees under changing conditions, and developing plans and activities to satisfy these needs. Key steps include forecasting demand for labour considering organizational strategic and tactical plans, economic conditions, market and competitive trends, social concerns, demographic trends, and technological changes. RECRUITMENT PROCESS Recruitment is the process of searching for and attracting an adequate number of qualified job candidate, from whom the organization may select the most appropriate to field its staff needs. The process begins when the need to fill a position is identified and it ends with the receipt of rà ©sumà ©s and completed application forms. The result is a pool of qualified job seekers from which the individual best matching the job requirements can be selected. The steps in recruitment process include identification of job openings, determination of job requirements, choosing appropriate recruiting sources and methods, and finally, generating a pool of qualified recruits. Job openings are identified through human resource planning or manager request. Next is to determine the job requirements. This involves reviewing the job description and the job specification and updating them, if necessary. Appropriate recruiting sources and methods are chosen because there is no one, best recruiting te chnique. Consequently, the most appropriate for any given position depend on a number of factors, which include organizational policies and plans, and job requirements. SELECTION PROCESS Selection is the process of choosing individuals with the relevant qualifications to fill existing or projected openings. Data and information about applicants regarding current employees, whether for a transfer or promotion, or outside candidates for the first time position with the firm are collected and evaluated. The steps in the selection process, in sending order include preliminary reception of applicants, initial applicant screening, selection testing, selection interview, background investigation and reference checking, supervisory interview, realistic job previews, making the hiring decision, candidate notification, and evaluating the selection process. However, each step in the selection process, from preliminary applicant reception and initial screening to the hiring decision, is performed under legal, organizational, and environmental constraints that protect the interests of both applicant and organization. ORIENTATION, TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT PROCESS Employee orientation is the procedure of providing new employees with basic background information about the firm and the job. Is more or less, considered as one component of the employers new-employee socialization process. Socialization process is an ongoing process of initialling in all employees the prevailing attitudes, standards, values, and patterns of behaviour that are expected by the organization. Training however is the process of teaching new or present employees the basic skills/competencies needed to perform their jobs. Whereas training focuses on skills and competencies needed to perform employees current jobs, employee and management development is the training of long-term nature. The aim is to prepare current employees for future jobs with the organization or solving an organizational problem concerning, for example, poor interdepartmental communication. Training and development processes include needs analysis, instructional design, validation, implementation, and evaluation and follow-up. CAREER PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT PROCESS It is the deliberate process through which persons become aware of personal career related attributes and the lifelong series of activities that contribute to their career fulfilment. Individuals, managers, and the organization have role to play in career development. Individuals accept responsibility of own career, assess interests, skills, and values, seek out career information and resources, establish goals and career plans, and utilize development opportunities. The career stage identification entails career cycle (the stages through which a persons career evolves). These stages include the following: growth, exploration, establishment, maintenance, and decline stages. Occupational orientation identification is the theory by John Holland. This theory enumerates six basic personal orientations that determine the sorts of careers to which people are drawn. They include realistic orientation, investigative orientation, social orientation, conventional orientation, enterprise orientation, and artistic orientation. PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL PROCESS Performance appraisal may be defined as any procedure that involves setting work standards, assessing employees actual performance relative to these standards, and providing feedback to the employee with the aim of motivating the worker to eliminate performance deficiencies or to continue to perform above par. Processes in performance appraisal contain three steps: defining performance expectations, appraising performance, and providing feedback. First, defining performance expectation means making sure that job duties and standards are clear to all. Second, appraising performance means comparing employees actual performance to the standards that has been set, which normally involves some type of rating form. Third, performance appraisal usually requires one or more feedback sessions to discuss employees performance and progress and making plans for any required development. Some of the appraisal methods include graphic rating scale, alternation ranking, paired comparison, forced dis tribution, and critical incident methods. EMPLOYEE COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS PROCESS Employee compensation involves all forms of pay or rewards accrued to employees and arising from their employment. This however consists of two main components: direct financial payments, and indirect payments. While direct financial payments are in the form of wages, salaries, incentives, commissions, and bonuses, indirect payments are in the form of financial benefits like employer-paid insurance and vacations. Moreover, legal considerations in compensation, union influences, compensation policies, and equity and its impact on pay rates are the four basic considerations influencing the formulation of any pay plan. Benefits are indirect financial payments given to employees. These may include supplementary health and life insurance, vacation, pension, education plans, and discounts on say company products. Furthermore, income and medical benefits to victims of work-related accidents or illness and/or their dependents, regardless of fault are all part of employees compensation. The processes in establishing pay rates involve the following five steps: First, conducting wages/salary survey to determine the prevailing wage rates for comparable jobs, which is central in job pricing. Second, determine the relative worth of each job (job evaluation) by comparing the job content in relation to one another in terms of their efforts, responsibility, and skills. This eventually results in wage or salary hierarchy. Third, group similar jobs into pay grades, a pay grade comprises of jobs of approximately equal value or importance as determined by job evaluation. Forth, price each pay grade using wage curves. A wage curve is graphical description of the relationship between the value of job and the average wage paid for the job. However, if jobs are not grouped into pay grades, individual pay rates have to be assigned to each job. Fifth, fine tune pay rates. This involves correcting out-of-line rates and usually developing rate ranges. OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY PROCESS Occupational health and safety process aims at protecting the health and safety of workers by minimizing work-related accidents and illnesses. Laws and legislations to ensure and observe general health and safety rules bound employers. More so, rules for specific industries, for example, mining and rules related to specific hazards, for instance, asbestos have to be adhered to. The following steps are important in this process. Checking for or removing unsafe conditions by using checklist to audit a companys adherence to safety rules that are guarded against hazards, which cannot be removed. Next, through selection, screening out of employees who might be accident prone for job in question without compromising the human right legislation. More so, establishing a safety policy, this emphasizes on the importance of practically reducing accidents and injuries. Setting specific loss control goals by analyzing the number of accidents and safety incidents and then set specific safety goals to be achieved. Enforcing safety rules through discipline and conducting health and safety inspections regularly by investigating all accidents and near misses, and by having a system in place for letting employe

Asian Paints Marketing Strategy

Asian Paints Marketing Strategy Asian Paints is Indias largest paint company and ranked among the top ten Decorative coatings companies in the world with a turnover of INR 66.80 billion. Asian Paints along with its subsidiaries have operations in 17 countries across the world with 23 paint manufacturing facilities, servicing consumers in 65 countries through Berger International, SCIB Paints Egypt, Asian Paints, Apco Coatings and Taubmans. Asian Paints aims to become one of the top five Decorative coatings companies world-wide by leveraging its expertise in the higher growth emerging markets. Simultaneously, the company intends to build long term value in the Industrial coatings business through alliances with established global partners. With Economic performance as objective the organization now has to develop short-term goals to reach the overall objective. These Goals are usually functional target such as production, Sales, new market develop, new product development and technology up gradation, once the goal are determined the strategies can be evolved to meet the goals. The organization is now on the way to achieve the overall objective of Economic (i) Customer Asset : The settings up Asian paints colour world, a chain of state art paint shop, is a major step towards building customer asset. At the same time company is focusing more in rural areas than urban area and continuing to provide good and quality service to the customer. (ii) Technology asset : Asian paint is one of first Indian company to go hi-tech. Asian paint has always kept its competitor at bay by constantly re-innovating its business process and system. (iii) Employee Asset : Asian paint always praise its employee for its success in the market. Company always considers employee as a biggest factor of its success. (iv) Dealer vendor relationship : Asian paint always maintain a close relationship with its dealers because company think that they play a major role in Asian paint recent success. (v) Brand Asset : Although it is operating in the commodity market but still Asian paint is investing heavily in branding. Gattu- Asian paint official mascot is very popular in India. Divisional objective: Asian paint has following division that are as follows: Decorative segment Asian paint is the leader in this segment. It is ahead that its competitor Nerolac and Berger in Decorative segment company still have certain objective for this sector that to increase it sales and to acquire maximum position in the market share in Indian paint market. Objective for decorative segment : To expanding its range in the economy segment. To strengthen its position in the emulsion segment in both exterior and interior emulsion. To continue its strategy of pricing aggression and increase it sales and to gain the market share along with a good operating margin. To focus on the rural market as company believes as it as been its objective since the beginning. To focus more on adcampaign for enhancement of their sales in urban as well as rural market. Industrial segment Asian paint second line of production deals with the industrial coating. The constraint in these segment is that it is not as successful as the decorative segment. In these sector it has to face a stiff competition from its nearest competitor Nerolac and Berger Paints. Objective for Industrial segment : To build new infrastructure in the country for Industrial coating to increase the production capacity. To develop the quality of the product with a higher technological up gradation. To increase the sales of the Industrial coating with the help of proper Ad. campaign programme. Automotive segment : Automotive is the third segment of the Asian paint. It is a product which company target for the automobile market in India as well as abroad. Objective of automotive segment : To put emphasis on continuous improvement in quality and productivity. To put emphasis on detect prevention To reduce variation and wastage in the supply chain Marketing Objective: Asian paints the leader in Indian paint Industry has a very strong marketing division. With more than 35% market share Asian paint is still growing in leaps and bounce to achieve higher targets. It is changing fundamentally with two objective in mind a huge ramp in the market share and better growth over the next three years. Previously company used to function as undifferentiated organization. But now they have divided it into three section each. And each section has its own independent support system, targets and performance parameter. Company marketing objectives are as follows: Asian paint is highly accepted in the urban sector and now the company is trying to access the rural market with low price product like Utsav targeting every customer of all income level. To increase its sales in the urban sector Asian paints today have 30 colour world located in different cities of India where any body can have the real taste of the colour. Online marketing has become an integrated part of the company and company is trying install a strong integrated for online marketing. Asian paints international unit, which have a dedicated marketing team is also targeting for a rapid growth in overseal market. Asian paint is following unlque strategy of marketing in the rural areas by using their official mascot. According to the company it feels that picture are more dominant than name. Asian paint website Asian paints com provides several information regarding the product and various other information that is being required by customer and dea Volumes and Profits : Indian paint industry is less than  ½ of the size of the Chinese paint industry by volume and less than 1/5 of the size of the US paint Industry by volume. In terms of Per capita consumption, the Indian paint industry lags behind the Pakistan and Sri Lankan markets also. Product : Paint Asian paint details with product that is (i) Decorative (ii) Industrial (iii)Automative. The product that this project will deal with will exclusively be decorative pains. Decorative Paints includes the following categories of product EXTERIOR WALLS : Asian Paints offers a range of emulsion paints for your exterior walls such as ACE, Apex, Apex Ultima, Apex Duracast and more, based on the specific demand of surface area. Interior Walls Distempers Distempers offer strong performance to the interior wall surface in terms of protection and adhesion. Tractor Acrylic Distemper, with better durability, is one of the best performing distemper made by Asian Paints. Emulsions Interior emulsions are advanced water based paints with better quality and shade range. Adhesion to wall surface, anti fungal properties and durability is more in emulsions. Enamels Enamels is a premium brand from Asian Paints, it is superior in terms of performance and gives that Perfect Finish for the walls. Competitors : In terms of gross sales we can rank the competitors of Asian paints as : Nerolac paints Berger Paints ICI Paints. In industry they are recognized as trailing firms. But with their high growth in the industry the competitors can touch or even overtake Asian paints, for that the three main competitors have different strategies. Initially one common strategy must be their mind is to increase the market share. Market Size: The market size of the Indian paints sector has been pegged at Rs 170 bn in value terms and is very fragmented. The per capita consumption of paints in India stands at 0.5 kg per annum as compared to 1.6 kgs in China and 22 kgs in the developed economies. Indias share in the world paint market is just 0.6%. The unorganised sector controls around 35% of the paint market, with the organised sector accounting for the balance. In the unorganised segment, there are about 2,000 units having small and medium sized paints manufacturing plants. Top organised players include Asian Paints (30% market share), Kansai Nerolac (20% market share), Berger Paints (19% market share) and ICI (12% market share). Decoratives: Major segments in decoratives include exterior wall paints, interior wall paints, wood finishes and enamel and ancillary products such as primers, putties etc. Decorative paints account for over 75% of the overall paint market in India. Asian Paints is the market leader in this segment. Demand for decorative paints arises from household painting, architectural and other display purposes. Demand in the festive season (September-December) is significant, as compared to other periods. This segment is price sensitive and is a higher margin business as compared to industrial segment. Industrial: Three main segments of the industrial sector include automotive coatings, powder coatings and protective coatings. Kansai Nerolac is the market leader in this segment. User industries for industrial paints include automobiles engineering and consumer durables. The industrial paints segment is far more technology intensive than the decorative segment. Customer Retention Asian Paints Limited, Indias largest paint company, has a reputation for professionalism and fast-track growth. Customers are at the core of all Asian Paints business activities. A simple but unbeatable concept of going where the customer is drives all its major initiatives. The company has an enviable reputation in the corporate world for professionalism, fast-track growth and customer-centricity. The Key Challenges addressed by the company are: A Fresh Approach to the Customer Experience  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚   Develop a direct link to the customer Standardize sales delivery processes used by Asian Paints Institute an online ordering and accounting system for providers Implement a real-time reporting system for employees and business partner   Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚   Intermediary Retention Industry is characterized by the presence of intermediaries who have a very high influencing power on the purchase decisions of the consumer, especially in the urban areas. Using these intermediaries for initiating demand: The intermediaries (the painters, contractors, designers, decorators etc.) are used as a marketing arm of the company Occupy part of the intermediary space and try to sideline other intermediaries: Asian Paints has opened a service arm, which provides the services provided by the existing intermediaries in the market. Being present in different seditions of the value delivery system and having a strong brand equity in the Paints market would give AP the credibility to operate a strong service arm. The service based strategy of AP could have two different approaches AP could try to reduce the power of the intermediary by increasing the Pull for the product. The role of the influencer could be drastically reduced by increasing the power of the end-consumer. AP can achieve this by establishing a strong brand name for its brands.

JFK Assassination :: essays research papers

Conspiracy: The Killing of a President In 1976, the US Senate ordered a fresh inquiry into the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, who was murdered in 1963 during a motorcade in Dallas, Texas while campaigning for re-election. People who had been involved in the original Warren Commission investigations were asked to make fresh statements. The FBI and the CIA were persuaded to release more of their documents on Oswald. New lines of inquiry were opened and individuals who had not previously given evidence were persuaded to come forward. Most important of all, pieces of evidence such as photos and sound recordings were subjected to scientific analysis using the most up-to-date methods and equipment. The House Select Committee on Assassinations (HSCA) completed their investigation in 1979 and they finally came to a discrete verdict that Lee Harvey Oswald fired three shots at Kennedy, one of which killed the president. A fourth shot was fired from the grassy knoll, which was contradictory to the statement printed by t he Warren Commission 16 years earlier. They concluded that John Kennedy was assassinated as the result of a conspiracy.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The investigation was ordered directly after the assassinations of two other major political figures; the civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King and the Presidents brother Robert Kennedy, in 1968. Naturally these incidents aroused immense suspicion and the American public started questioning why so many key US figures had been assassinated in the space of just four years, when previously this type of incident had been rare. The HCSA was interested in looking into the possibility that the assassinations were related. At the time there was also an increasing awareness of corruption and scandal within the government. The Watergate Scandal in 1974 involving President Nixon had clearly shown that American government was not entirely free of foul play. As a result of this, people started questioning the behavior of the government, and how much it was holding back from its people. This is most likely why Americans became more receptive and attracted to the idea of a conspiracy behind Kennedy's death.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The public became even more interested in the Kennedy assassination after books such as Rush to Judgment, by Mark Lane and Inquest, by Edward Jay Epstein began to come off the press. They immediately became best sellers and played a large role in raising awareness regarding the assassination. As a result people started to inquire more and theories arose that other people or organizations had been involved in Kennedy's assassination than had been previously thought.

Environment and Governmental Policies :: Politics, Daoism

As humanity begins to use nature to fulfill their need for resources, they tend to create negative consequences to the environment that surrounds them. There are only a few governmental policies that ultimately lean towards a conservationist stand view, since this may be an economically unappealing concept, but there are some moral stances that promote the preservation of nature. In some cases, though, governments are able to support their ecological and economic issues together. It is stated that the â€Å"government has done nothing effective with its forests† and â€Å"the laws... provide neither for the protection of the timber from destruction nor for it’s use where it is most needed† (Doc. 5). This proposal supports the idea that the government’s policies do not advocate the safekeeping of our surroundings appropriately. The destruction of our environment is not decreasing because as our technology expands it becomes easier to â€Å"rule over [nature] without difficulty† (Doc. 4). Taking this into account, we must realize that â€Å"although development is vital...bio-diversity† is something that even humanity can’t live without (Doc. 8). Native American, Chief Seattle, responds to the government in 1852 saying that â€Å"to harm the earth† is something that is considered disrespectful to â€Å"its creator† (Doc. 6). From our own ethical conceptions, humanity is mostly in favor of the safeguarding of wildlife. Daoism, an early chinese concept, conforms to the conservation of nature in that they believe they shouldn’t â€Å"try to change the world by force† because it can cause â€Å"damage to [themselves]† (Doc. 1). From a Buddhist point of view, perpetuating the environment seems to be an important factor in their religion as they wish â€Å"all [creatures to] be blessed with peace always† (Doc. 2). In the Book of Genesis it states that we should â€Å"have dominion† over the creatures yet still â€Å"replenish the earth† (Doc. 3). As the environment is here for our uses, we still must keep it in a state that we can continue to use it. â€Å"Ethical criteria† of the earth may be defined that something is â€Å"right... when it preserve[s] the integrity, stability, and beauty of the biotic community† (Doc. 7). In a point of view that is m erely based on morals, conservation of nature is a good and a necessary abstraction. On the other hand, the way we go about environmentalism is something that the human race has come to focus on and improve in the years past.

Evaluating The Breeze As Educational Tool In E-Learning

In the best-seller books, Rich Dad Poor Dad, Robert T. Kiyosaki and his co-author Susan L. Lechter highlights the needs for growing assets instead of liabilities. In other words, they suggest that we, anyone who wants to be rich, should not spend our money in any way that is no relation with assets creation. In this manner, they regard knowledge, obtained through formal or non-formal education, as the most important element of success in today’s fast changing world.Regarding the idea, we witness that educators continue finding the right proportion of syllabus that fit the needs of current and future workplaces.This is essential to meet current workplace demands that require employees that are knowledgeable, capable of handling and distribute information, and have expertise in technology (Goldstein, 2003). The situation highlights that employees need to be skillful in operating high technology equipments and also other tools that help them to communicate effectively with their colleagues. Concerning the issue, this paper will discuss about the evaluation of Macromedia Breeze as education tools in E-Learning. 2. Aims and Objectives a.This paper intends to discuss about the importance of using of technology as education tools b. By employing non-participant observation method, collecting data and analyzing qualitative information from a wide range of sources including journals, books, magazines and online materials, this paper aims at discussing the benefits of using Macromedia Breeze as education tools that support the implementation of e-learning. c. In addition, the paper also intends to describe about factors that encourage technology integration for education systems3. Problem Statement Education becomes key success factors that help a person to master the required knowledge in order to enable him performing their jobs effectively. The education itself can be learned when he is at school or during his duty in a company through several internal or exter nal training sessions. Concerning the education system and the use of technology, therefore the research statement or question is â€Å"Does Macromedia Breeze provide greater benefits for people in carrying out rapid e-learning (REL) in a company? †I choose this research question since it might be completely different from others that may focus only on general use of technology in a company. Therefore, instead of elaborating partial discussion on the issue, I decide to discuss the comprehensive discussion on branding in order to favor readers in understanding the technical benefits that Macromedia Breeze offers to users in performing rapid e-learning (REL) method. For this reason, in the literature review, I employ several sources ranging from academic journals, magazines, online news and books that relate to the use of technology as education tools.4. Literature Review Information Technology as Educational Tools The above condition strengthens the importance of current educa tion system to understand the needs of current and future workplaces in order to customize their syllabus so that they meet the needs of employers. Moreover, the authors also stress the importance of workforces to master information and communication technologies so that they can employ appropriate and hence effective methods in completing any tasks.We must remember that our society has experienced many changes. People or firms who succeed are those who can meet the demands required by each workplace. Once we were in agricultural society then moved into industrial society through industrial revolution in 19th century and now we live in information society marked by the advancement in telecommunications and computer technology that enable the transfer of information at the speed of light.Concerning the situation, Carly Fiorina, former CEO of HP, says only people and firms having pile of information can take benefits of the future market. Therefore, Fiorina implies the urge of becomin g learning organization in which information exchange exists in a company and the benefits of using information technology can be encouraged in the education institutions. Given the importance of information processing in the commerce, it is not surprising that business of any types was among the earliest adopters of automated information processing technology.For this reason, they need labor that have expertise in using and operating computers in commerce or trade so that they can handle sophisticated tasks like storing and retrieving large amounts of information and at making calculations and designs at highest accuracy. Historically, the convergence of digital technologies including television, telephony, and computers has stimulated the reach of the innovations of the Internet that grew from inter-university computer networks in United States.Under such circumstance, it is common to hope that current education systems should address in their syllabus about current and future emp loyment needs. Macromedia Breeze and E-Learning The use of technology especially software has influenced the way employees performing their jobs. There are many applications or software that sold in the market with various variant or version. For example, in word processing tool, customers are already accustomed to using famous application such as Microsoft Word, Word Perfect, and Open Office (for open source platform).Meanwhile, for creating slides for presentations, they are used to using Microsoft PowerPoint. In addition to the famous Microsoft PowerPoint, currently, there are many other software applications that show the powerful of presentation especially ones that support the electronic learning or e-learning. Historically, the emerging rapid e-learning has become a hot issue in workplace since it provides many benefits for employees. The situation encourages 85% of Fortune 500 companies to adopt e-learning immediately.Moreover, 80% of the respondents in the survey reveal tha t the adoption of rapid e-learning concept can give the significant contribution to their companies (Archibald, 2005). The key benefits of using Macromedia Breeze is it reduces the costs for traditional e-learning solutions that usually costs customers about US$10,000 and $50,000 per hour. According to Philip Kotler (2000), the marketing mix consisting of four important factors; they are Product, Promotion, Price and Place is a crucial aspect of forming a marketing program.In addition, by using rapid e-learning method, customers enable to have training material that has critical development timelines and alters or content updated frequently, to name a few (Archibald, 2005). Currently, in the market, there are many tools that help customers to perform rapid e-learning (REL) schemes; they include Lersus, Articulate, SNAP! Studio, Webex, and mindflash. Macromedia Breeze, Content Point, and Macromedia Breeze. Technically, Macromedia Breeze uses PowerPoint as its main development tool.Ho wever, Macromedia Breeze adds several features including the easiness of adding an audio track to the training material. Other features of Macromedia Breeze are the capability of conducting assessment and tracking tools and they are AICC- and SCORM-compliant (Archibald, 2005). Encouraging Technology Integration at Education Systems Considering the importance of technology integration at education systems, some scholars reveal three factors that characterize the tendencies to integrate technology within education systems as following:a) First, the society realized the importance of introducing computers and other technology in formal education (schools). The trend of considering computers and their allied components as a necessity in school programs is considerable stronger, starting from the 1980’s (Milton, 2005). b) Second, there is a strong rationale within the education institution to replace the traditional programs with modern technology education. A National survey by C hinies, Oaks and Boutique (2002) indicated that school based technological literacy was one of the greatest factors that empowered any advancing economy in the world.c) Third, there is a strong support from teachers and school administrators, who became loyal contributors of efforts in designing technology programs and supporting the use of computers in all aspects of schooling (Hache, 1996) 5. Methodological and Ethical Issues The paper will employ qualitative approach, which is a research that is carried out through observations. The benefit of employing qualitative approach is it enables a researcher to investigate in little more detail on the individual perceptions of a phenomenon. However, since the research deals with the personal, therefore, such an investigation is limited in its scope.Moreover, observation becomes an important technique for collecting data concerning what occurs in a real-life situation. This method also helps us to reach an understanding about the percepti ons of those who are being studied, in that situation. To be specific, we employ non-participant observation method especially by analyzing qualitative information from journals, books, magazines and many more. The most interesting part of conducting observation is it provides researchers with an understanding about the perceptions about things or people we observe.However, since observation deals with someone’s perception, we plan to avoid preconceptions since it would provide this research with some bias. In order to comprehensive explanation, this paper will describe the use of information technology especially software applications for education purposes. In this situation, I will employ various sources including websites that discuss the use of software applications for education purposes. 6. Time Schedule In preparing the research proposal, below is the detail schedule of finalization for my research.

RV CV

I have good communication and ‘people' skills. I am flexible and enjoy learning new skills and have enjoyed working in different environments. This has given me so much experience. I would welcome the opportunity to further my education/ training to ensure can do any job to the best of my ability. The Heathens Animal Rescue Group, Cat Sanctuary -July 2014 to date Volunteer helping in the sanctuary. BOW (Business Working with Watershed) – May 2014 Volunteer Organizes. Organizing networking events for a charitable organization that brings together businesses to do work in the community.Setting up event, meeting delegates, compiling information on attendees, making sure delegates are looked after at the event. Babysitter – January 2012 to date babysat for neighbors and friends, giving them the opportunity to socialism and attend events. This has taught me how to organize a diary, network and learn a little about running a business. Prep Dam School India – Febr uary 2014 Volunteer was given an amazing opportunity from college to fly to India to take part in volunteer project helping in Catholic schools and orphanages in Iambi.This was a life changing opportunity. We attended different schools. The first was a girls orphanage with ages ranging from 6 – 16 years. We played a few simple games with them, sang songs and then worked with them to produce a presentation on Nelson Mandela and freedom. They made posters inspired by the presentation. This gave me a chance to hear some of the girls life stories, and how coming to the boarding school was a way out of the slums for them for a while, like a long holiday.The second school was similar, but girls and boys aged 5 years old. On our final day with the charity, we reached our hardest challenge, looking after 200, 5 year olds. We decided to do lots of arts and crafts, bracelet making painting and mask making along with sports such as cricket and football. We hope we made a difference to t hem, they certainly made a difference to me. Zoom Play Centre Stockpot – June 2012 to June 2014 Party Host/Waitress Whilst working at Zoom, have had many roles. My main role is a Party Host for young children.This involves serving hem food and drink, as well as organizing different games for them. My other roles include working on the till, serving drinks and confectionery. Taking food orders, waiting on tables, and cleaning the equipment, cafe and party area. SST Michaels Primary School – Work Experience – July 2012 Teaching Assistant While I was in year 1 1, I was offered the opportunity do my work experience in a primary school. I learned to control different situations, planned lessons, interact with teachers and pupils, and was involved in organizing trips out.Miss Selfridges – The Tradeoff Centre – October 2014 – Present Whilst working at Miss Selfridges, I was responsible for working as part of a team to reach the stores sales and cus tomer service targets. Some of the roles I contributed to included making sure that each and every customer was satisfied and has found everything they needed, offering expert knowledge and fashion advice, handling all customer responses and being able to deal with them in a calm and professional manner and ensuring that all standards are up to scratch ND maintained throughout the day.